Epidural needle and catheter placement procedures are widely utilized for a variety of medical purposes. For example, anesthetics are often administered through a needle placed in the epidural space, or through a catheter which has been inserted into the epidural space after the space has been located with a needle. Analgesics, corticosteroids and other therapeutic agents are also administered via this route for the treatment of a variety of conditions such as radicular back pain and post-surgical epidural fibrosis.
The epidural space or cavity is the space between the spinal dura or fibrous membrane forming the outermost covering of the spinal cord and the periosteum or membrane lining the spinal canal. When administering anesthetics or therapeutic agents, it is important to precisely locate the epidural space. If the needle is not deep enough, the anesthetic or therapeutic agent will not reach the targeted site and if the needle penetrates too far, spinal puncture or other complications may result.
Current techniques for inserting needles into the epidural space have many disadvantages. The needle is advanced manually in very small increments and air or saline is repeatedly injected into the needle until a pressure drop is observed due to a sudden decrease in the resistance to injection when the needle enters the epidural space. This procedure is tedious, difficult to control and can result in puncture of, or injury to the dura.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a device and procedure for epidural needle placement which overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages and is accurate and easy to utilize.